25 MAY 2017: Next to Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Death in the Afternoon’, one of the best books ever written on bullfighting is the children’s classic, ‘The Story of Ferdinand’. First published in 1936 and still in print today – as you may recall from reading it to your kids – it’s the delightful tale of a should-have-been fighting bull that preferred sitting under a cork tree and smelling the flowers over locking horns with his peers.

When “the men from Madrid” come to pick a bull for the bullfight, Ferdinand accidentally sits on a bumblebee and, seeing the normally shy and retiring bull dashing around madly, he is the ‘toro bravo’ they select. Come the day of the bullfight however, when he enters the bullring, all Ferdinand cares about is the bouquet of flowers a woman has tossed to the matador. He promptly lies down in the ring to ‘smell the roses’, prompting the confused matador to ask, “Whassa matta with you, you crazy bull? Fight!” He didn’t. Instead he was spared to live happily ever after.

I was reminded of Ferdinand by last week’s headline here that reported, “Thousands Demand End To Bullfighting in Spain” – a cry that has been heard for as long as the sport has existed.

One Travel Industry Today reader, using the nom de plume ‘Don Marty de la Corrida’ (Marty of the Bullfight) made the succinct comment, “Mierda de Toro,” which translates to, “BS”.

Bravo!

Another reader, Douglas Ledbury, related the tale of two bulls: One that joins hundreds in crowded pens where he’s fattened up to become a Big Mac and the other that (like Ferdinand) is set loose in wide open fields, free to play all day long. The first bull dies anonymously in a slaughterhouse whereas, after four, happy, well fed years, the second one has the chance to die gloriously in the bullring and sometimes, if he outfights the matador, will be spared to see out his life in peace.

Bravo again!

In his classic 1932, ‘Death in the Afternoon’ – still considered ‘the bible’ on bullfighting – Hemingway stated that, “it is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honor.”

Bravo yet again!

I lived in Spain for three wonderful years back in the 70’s and remember my first trip to the bullring as if it were yesterday. I was dragged along by a gloriously- named Spanish colleague, Jesus Flores-Flores (Jesus Flowers-Flowers) and like Hemingway, 40 years earlier, I expected to be appalled by what I’d long considered the bloodthirsty, ritual slaughter of hapless animals. I could not have been more wrong! Instead it was a clear-cut case of ‘love at first fight’.

I realize that any argument in defense of bullfighting is not one that can ever be won with words alone. It’s even more futile than trying to explain the game of cricket to an American. “Yes – after five days of play it can actually end in a tie … no seriously!”

Bullfighting has got to be one of the most polarizing and misunderstood sports/cum-artforms on the planet. Yes, I did say ‘sports’. If you won’t take that descriptor from me, consider that man Hemingway again who – without mentioning cricket – declared that, “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering – all the rest are merely games.”

That said, I have often described the spectacle, traditions and nuances of a bullfight as being akin to the game of baseball – at least at the major league level. Before you think I have lost my senses – for the true baseball fan, the game is no more about simply outscoring the competition than bullfighting is just about just killing a bull. Both contests are rich in history with a plethora of “finer points” many of which are only appreciated by true disciples of the sport.

Just as a true baseball fan can find a 2-1 pitchers’ dual more exciting than a 13-10 slugfest, so too for the bullfighting ‘aficionado’ a brave bull that outwits the toreador and is ‘indultado’ or pardoned, is something truly special to behold. In such cases, by the waving of white handkerchiefs, the crowd and matador jointly petition the president of the bullring to spare the bull. For the bullfighter it is actually an honor for a bull they have fought to be spared as it talks to the performance of the animal rather than a failure by the fighter. Such lucky animals will then return to their farms to see out their years as ‘seed bulls’ and often live for another 20 years. Nice work if you can get it!

As Hemingway observed, “Anything capable of arousing such passion in its favor, will surely raise as much passion against it.” The ‘Corrida’ makes a great bucket-list item and next time you’re in Spain you really should experience it for yourself. Just one tip – there are usually three types of ticket, Sombra (shade), Sol y Sombra (sun and shade) and Sol (sun). The first is the most expensive category but well worth it.

Now when it comes to buying tickets for a five-day cricket match in England, there is only ‘sunny’ or ‘cloudy with occasional drizzle’. Frankly watching the day’s recorded highlights on your hotel room’s TV is probably the best way to view it. Owzat?